Snapshots of Camelot
by Elfyna
Summary: This is a series of short, light-hearted and mostly humorous scenes featuring the characters from 'Merlin - The side of the story that was never told'. It is not essential to have read this fanfic, though a character or two will be new to you if you haven't. Enjoy!
1. A pink catastrophe

**oOo**

' _MERLIN_!'

The young warlock sighed as he dragged his feet along the tiled floor. Nothing spelled headache more than Arthur's booming voice calling out his name. This was happening far too much these days, to the point where Merlin wished his name wasn't Merlin. Walking into the Prince's chambers, he fought to keep a smile on his face.

'Yes Arthur?'

The latter was standing in front of his drawers, holding a pink tunic.

'Why is my tunic pink?!'

Pink wasn't exactly the word Merlin would have chosen to describe it. He would have leaned more towards fuchsia. Seeing the Prince of Camelot holding such a feminine looking item of clothing amused him greatly. He had to repress a laugh as he answered;

'I don't know.'

'Oh, you think it's funny?'

'No, no, not at all.'

Merlin put his hands behind his back, keeping his lips tightly shut to avoid the possibility of a giggle escaping. Arthur stared at him, unamused and expecting some kind of solution.

'Just pick another tunic, you have a thousand of them.'

This suggestion enraged the Prince further. He began rooting through his drawer with more force than necessary, discarding tunics on the floor in a dramatic fashion as he pulled them from it.

'THEY ARE ALL _PINK_.'

This time, Merlin couldn't hold it in. He laughed out loud before clamping a hand to his mouth. Arthur grabbed him by the collar, spitting in his face as he threatened him.

'I swear to god Merlin, if this is your idea of a joke, it is in poor taste.'

He wanted to tease him desperately, but wondered if that was wise in the current situation. Puffing up his cheeks with air, Merlin quickly assessed the pros and cons of saying what he wanted to say. Ah, what the hell, a little fun never hurt anyone.

'No, but at least now the colour of your face matches your tunic.'

Arthur was about to slap him around the head for his remark when Gwen came in, followed by Marina. As soon as the physician's assistant's gaze fell upon the Prince, she gasped, whilst Marina let out unstrained laughter. Now feeling beyond ridiculed, Arthur let go of Merlin. He stood there, unable to say or do anything apart from smile at Gwen. Marina walked closer, still giggling. Stopping in front of Arthur, she pulled a pink carnation from the vase on the chest of drawers and tucked it behind his ear carefully, her tongue sticking out slightly as she made sure it remained in place.

'Princess Arthuria of Camelot. What an honour.'

Curtseying in somewhat of an exaggerated manner, she couldn't stop the giggles from tumbling out. The fact that it was the future King of Camelot that she was laughing at didn't cross her mind once. Arthur, his mood now more than exacerbated, folded his arms across his chest.

'Who is responsible for this?'

The three servants looked away, not one of them responding to his enquiry. He tried again.

'WHO DID THIS?'

His voice echoed throughout his chambers. After a few seconds, a timid voice emerged from the silence.

'I did Sire. I'm so sorry, I made a mistake and washed your tunics in what turned out to be dye, I…'

Gwen's composure crumpled and she dissolved in tears. Arthur now alarmed, forgot all about his anger. Patting Gwen awkwardly in a semi-reassuring manner, he looked at Marina for guidance. She pointed at the shirt, before gesturing that he should put it on, all silently so as not to alert Gwen. The Prince shook his head vehemently as his inconsolable maid sobbed louder, her face buried in her hands. Marina repeated her actions, with Merlin joining in this time, the overall scene resulting in a kind of absurd pantomime. As Gwen's sobs situated themselves increasingly higher on the decibel scale, Arthur gave in and slipped the pink tunic on. Taking Gwen by the shoulders, he smiled brightly, the flower still tucked safely behind his right ear.

'Look Gwen, I can still wear them! It doesn't matter! Look!'

He stretched his arms out and executed a little twirl, earning a few more giggles from Merlin and Marina. Gwen herself smiled, her sobs subsiding. Relieved, Arthur planted his hands firmly on his hips before saying;

'Merlin, clean all this mess up.'

He was referring to the clothes strewn all over the floor. Merlin grinned at him, not moving an inch.

'I'm not doing a thing you ask me to. Not when you're dressed like a giant grapefruit.'

'Oh, really?'

Crossing the space between himself and Merlin, Arthur pulled the young servant's tunic off in one swift motion, before replacing it with one of his pink tops.

'There, now will you do as you're told?'

Marina, now on the floor, managed to squeeze out a few words between gasps.

'Wow, Merlin, your outfit really…brings out…y…your eyes!'

Merlin, vexed, bent down and began picking up the tunics. It was at this moment that Morgana decided to appear. Taking in the scene before her, she snorted in derision. If those fools were the only obstacle she was up against, capturing Camelot would be easier than taking candy from a baby.

 **oOo**


	2. An evening with Bacchus

Marina scooped up a little more water from the lake, gulping it down thirstily. Never had she tasted a liquid so sweet and refreshing. She let it run down her lips onto her chin, droplets wetting the grass below. Closing her eyes, she could see mountains made out of fluffy clouds, a couple of trees from the forest below dancing merrily along to a wolf's skilfully played flute melody. She felt herself sway along, giggling as a lumbering bear joined the party, bringing with him plates of delicious sweets. Shaking her head, Marina extricated herself from her peculiar reverie and made her way back to the castle.

 **oOo**

The Hall had been prepared in a charming fashion. Candles had been lit, fragrant flowers arranged around the large room, petals had been strewn a little everywhere, and the best cutlery had been put out. Intoxicating smells rose from platters of meats, vegetables, soups and freshly baked bread. Arthur looked at the woman sitting on his right.

'Too much jewellery', he thought.

Forcing a smile, he wished his father hadn't insisted on this meetup. Even before Arthur met Lady Helena, he had known that his answer with regards to marrying her would be a resounding ' _no'_. Uther, looking at the advantageous side of things, had made it clear that a union between the two would greatly benefit Camelot. It was for this reason that Arthur now found himself having to push polite and bland conversations with a woman who not only was twice his size, but really, really not to his taste. Her rudeness and arrogance were somewhat of a legend. To make matters worse, Merlin had been assigned the duty of chaperoning, as well as making sure their plates and glasses were at all times full. A mocking smile on his face, he would snort, giggle or click his tongue at various intervals, making sure the prince heard every single time. This, coupled with Helena's constant need to initiate physical contact at every chance she got made for the perfect ingredients to a nightmarish evening.

'So tell me, my prince, do you hunt?'

Her sentence was punctuated by a derisive snort from Merlin. Arthur screwed up his eyes, sending him silent death threats before turning back to Helena, who was now busy draining her glass.

'I'm afraid I don't, my Lady. Hunting isn't really something I enjoy much.'

'I see. Then perhaps you read?'

'No. My duties towards the Kingdom occupy most of my time.'

Helena forked another mouthful into an already pretty full mouth, chewing vivaciously as her left hand reached out for his. Arthur cleared his throat before rapidly taking his glass, outmanoeuvring her advances. The Lady giggled raucously, fluttering her eyelashes at him in a fairly unsubtle manner. 'Where did my father find this woman?!' The prince asked himself.

'Well, when we are married, I shall make sure you have some spare time to devote solely to me.'

Her remark as well as what it implicated forced him to swallow hard. Distant waves of nausea were starting to form, and he had to inhale deeply several times before being able to smile. A quick glance in Merlin's direction informed him that the latter was trying very hard not to laugh. Nostrils flared, lips pressed tightly together, it was all he could do to stop himself from bursting. Being Arthur's servant wasn't always fun, but he wouldn't trade moments like this for the world. Just as he stepped forward to refill Lady Helena's glass, a crash was heard just outside the doors of the Hall.

'No, no you can't go in there!'

Another crash closely followed. Now concerned, Arthur rose from his seat, ready to defend his guest. What he saw next was the last thing he was prepared for.

'Woah! A party! Hey, that's not fair! I want some too!'

With that boisterous statement Marina all but stumbled towards the food laden table, taking a seat. Her cheeks were flushed, unruly curls falling onto her face. Merlin wasted no time in trying to get her out.

' _Marina_! What are you-no, put that down!'

He watched, horrified as she seized a leg of lamb and bit into it with gusto. Arthur, though shocked and a little outraged, could not deny that he was glad for the distraction. Resting his elbows on the table, he surveyed his servant as she ate. Lady Helena was the first to vocalise the absurdity of the situation.

' _Who_ is this wild creature? And _why_ is she here? Pray, servant, remove her at once.' Her haughty tone accompanied by the impatient snapping of her fingers did not agree with Merlin, who simply folded his arms and watched the scene unfold with unrestrained amusement. Marina pointed at Lady Helena with the lamb before mimicking her;

' _Who_ is this crapbag? And _why_ is she here? Pray, someone remove her at once!'

Dissolving into a fit of laughter, she put the lamb down. Arthur had to mentally flip through every terrible, depressing thing that had ever happened to him in order to keep a straight face. Lady Helena, now beyond furious, raised a ringed hand and brought it crashing down on Marina's face. The sound of the slap echoed across the Hall.

'That will teach you to respect your betters.'

His mouth in the shape of a perfect 'o', Merlin did not dare move. All remained motionless, as Marina sat, still as a statue, her hair covering her face. Then, wordlessly, she reached for the lamb once more. Her hand trembled as she held it, no doubt feeling the smarting on her left cheek. Merlin felt terrible. Though he knew his friend had stepped over the line, he couldn't help but-

His thoughts were interrupted by Lady Helena's violent screaming.

Marina had proceeded to beat her vigorously with the partially eaten leg of lamb. Standing over the Lady, she spared no expense in ensuring that every inch of Helena's dress had come into contact with the greasy meat. Arthur simply looked on, too shocked to do anything but. Merlin sprang into action, encircling Marina by the waist and dragging her forcefully away from the woman. The latter kicked and screamed, waving the meat about in the air like a wand. Helena, now covered in grease from head to toe, attempted to fix her blonde hair to no avail, all the while screaming blue murder, her threats becoming increasingly more absurd as her anger mounted.

'If you think a trollop like you can get away with this…I'll make meat out of you! I'll, my father will hear of this! He will end you! You will be hanged, and then we will see…We'll see who gets beaten with…by…'

Her fury now overwhelming her speech abilities, the Lady huffed, her face red and eyes bulbous. The prince would normally have put a stop to all this long ago, but his guest's obnoxiousness kept him from doing so. Instead, he attempted to offer some half-hearted calming words, but Marina's response only infuriated her more.

'HA! Let him come at me! If he's as fat as you, he won't be able to catch me!'

'Are you calling me fat?!'

'Well, unless you're going to lie and say all this stuff's "puffy muscles"…'

'HOW DARE YOU! MY FATHER-'

'YOUR FATHER WILL RECEIVE A LEG O' LAMB BEATING TOO IF HE TRIES TO HANG ME.' This bold statement was punctuated with yet another large swing of the lamb. Merlin, finding himself in its trajectory, ducked, before dragging the maddened woman away from the table.

'Oh my God, okay, I think we're about done here. Marina come on, put that down, we're going to leave Arthur and his…Lady alone now.'

Marina, furious herself, shouted obscenities all the way out of the Hall, whilst Merlin apologised profusely. Arthur could do nothing more than remain wide-eyed as Helena began to turn her fury against him.

'How _could_ you let her do that to me?! Aren't you supposed to be a Prince?!'

 **oOo**

Now safely out of earshot, Merlin pulled Marina close, smelling her for any indication that she had been drinking.

'I can't…I mean, what was that?! Are you drunk?'

Marina's brows furrowed as she began protesting. 'But I didn't do anything! She's the one who called me a wild creature, which is rich coming from-'

'I don't care! You can't go around _assaulting_ important people with a piece of meat! Forget that, you can't go around assaulting anyone with anything! I'm surprise Arthur himself didn't hit you!'

Taking a step back, he tried to figure out the reason from Marina's abrasive behaviour. Finding no clues, he began questioning her;

'Have you eaten anything out of the ordinary, like mushrooms?'

She pursed her lips as she tried to recall everything she had eaten that day.

'Hmm…no, I had some…soup and bread…oh and there's thing amazing water that I found near that fork in the road that leads to the village of Tumalt.'

'Water? What water?'

'Well, it's a lake but the water is so clear and clean and-'

'Oh God Marina, you drank from Bacchus' Pool didn't you?!'

'Huh?'

'Why, why would you do that?!'

Seeing her confused expression, he eased up.

'I suppose you couldn't have known, I should have warned you about that. Come on, we'll take you to Gaius, he'll know what to do.'


End file.
